Headlines for NRB

Celebrating its sixteenth year, the event, which hosts over 270 exhibitors and 7,000 trade only visitors, brings together the entire Northern hospitality industry to discover new ideas, identify opportunities and source new products and services. This year we’ve been delighted to work with the exhibition and deliver its main pre-event news story, revealing the North’s most ‘restauranty’ cities.

The study, conducted by Northern Restaurant and Bar organisers Holden Media and hospitality insight business CGA Peach, examined the restaurant density of northern cities and saw Newcastle take the top spot with 1,558 residents per restaurant. Manchester came a close second (1,576) followed by York (1,585), Liverpool (1,996) and Chester (2,595).

The story, delivered by Rule 5, generated widespread trade, business and regional coverage upon release and will feature in today’s North West Tonight bulletins.

Thom Hetherington, chief executive of Holden Media, said of the research findings: “London is a global gastronomic city, but clearly the North of England is catching up at a rate of knots, not least because it is possible for cash-strapped but talented chefs to set up their own ventures and cook their hearts out for an appreciative audience.”

Aiden Byrne, the Liverpool-born chef behind Living Ventures’ fine dining venue Manchester House, said: “I feel very proud to be part of the ever-growing dining scene in Manchester.

“It’s extremely exciting to see top London operators paying an interest in the market. The buzz in the city is filling us with confidence to keep moving forward.”

Northern Restaurant and Bar includes the NRB Debate, this year fronted by Jay Rayner, the NRB Top Fifty Awards and NRB Fringe alongside an extensive programme of tastings, demonstrations and workshops.